


Not That Easy to Forget

by benjaminrussell



Category: Leverage, The Librarians (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Children, Alternate Universe - Siblings, Gen, Grief/Mourning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-17
Updated: 2018-11-17
Packaged: 2019-08-24 21:35:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16648250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/benjaminrussell/pseuds/benjaminrussell
Summary: Eliot gets a splinter, but luckily his brother is there to help.





	Not That Easy to Forget

**Author's Note:**

> For anon on tumblr, for the prompts: “Oh! you’re bleeding! Let me see it.” and ‘Kissing the spot where the splinter was’.
> 
> This probably isn’t what you were expecting, anon, but this is where my mind went and hopefully you enjoy it anyway!

Jacob eventually found Eliot outside in the yard, glowering at a tree stump with a smaller block of wood sat on top. He had an axe that was really a bit too big for a twelve year old gripped loosely in one hand, while he had the thumb of the other stuck in his mouth, the way you did when you’d cut it or as what was probably the case here, got a splinter. Walking up to his older brother, Jacob forgot all about why he’d originally been looking for him and instead focused on the fact Eliot was hurt. Sure, as the eldest Eliot was usually the one looking out for Jacob, but it didn’t mean the younger Stone sibling didn’t worry about his brother, especially now that their mom was gone.

“You’re bleeding! Let me see it,” Jacob said in lieu of a greeting, ignoring the way Eliot stiffened when he heard the approaching footsteps but immediately relaxed again once he realised it was only Jacob. There wasn’t anything he could do about it other than be there for him like always, no matter how much he wished otherwise.

“It’s nothing,” Eliot replied, pulling his thumb from his mouth and setting the axe down safely out of the way, “Don’t worry about it.” But Jacob wouldn’t take no for an answer so he reached out for Eliot’s hand and pulled it towards him in order to inspect the wound. As he’d suspected, it was indeed a splinter, unsurprising given that his brother had been chopping wood without gloves on.

“It’s not deep so we can use the tweezers to get it out,” Jacob informed him, wrapping his fingers around Eliot’s wrist and pulling him in the direction of the house. He knew his brother would be able to break free if he wanted to, but he was also fairly confident that Eliot would do more or less anything that he asked him to. Indeed, Eliot did follow without pulling away, with only minor grumbling under his breath, so Jacob counted it as a win.

“Hold your hand steady and I’ll get the splinter out,” Jacob said once they were in the bathroom and he’d retrieved the tweezers from the cupboard. He closed in on where Eliot was perched on the side of the bath and cradled his brother’s hand in his own, unconsciously sticking his tongue out as he focused on extracting the splinter. It took a few minutes, but eventually he was able to get it out without hurting Eliot any more than the splinter already had been, and he dropped the offending bit of wood into the bin. He set the tweezers down before inspecting the wound again, turning Eliot’s thumb back and forth to make sure he hadn’t missed any little bits. Luckily it didn’t look bad to Jacob’s inexperienced eyes, so he ducked his head and pressed a kiss to the pad of Eliot’s thumb just like their mom used to, before stepping back and letting go of his hand.

“There. All better,” Jacob told Eliot with a weak smile as he felt the by now familiar wave of grief wash over him. He thought that Eliot felt it too, if the slight pinch to his expression was anything to go by, but his brother was better at hiding it. While Jacob was certain he’d still miss their mom just as much, he thought that maybe when he was Eliot’s age he’d be able to deal with the grief better. At least he hoped so.

After a moment of shared silent mourning, Eliot stood up and headed out of the bathroom, ruffling Jacob’s hair as he passed and murmured, “Thanks Jake.” He was looking a lot less angry than he had been when Jacob found him, so Jacob counted that as a win and went to find the dog instead. Tiberius would be just as enthusiastic about cuddles as Jacob, especially if they were accompanied by a game of fetch and a treat, and cuddles were just what he needed right now.


End file.
